Facebook News Pages to Be Restored in Australia as Government Agrees to Amend Media Payment Law

Facebook indicated a compromise had been reached on key aspects of a law that would force digital giants to pay news companies for content.

Facebook News Pages to Be Restored in Australia as Government Agrees to Amend Media Payment Law

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Facebook indicated a compromise had been reached on key aspects of a law

Highlights
  • Google and Facebook have campaigned against the laws
  • Google last week inked deals with top Australian outlets
  • Laws would've given the government the right to appoint an arbitrator
Advertisement

Facebook said Tuesday it will lift a contentious ban on Australian news pages, after the government agreed to amend a world-first media law fiercely opposed by the tech giant. 

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Facebook indicated a compromise had been reached on key aspects of a law that would force global tech companies to pay news companies for content that appears on their platforms.

"As a result of these changes, we can now work to further our investment in public interest journalism, and restore news on Facebook for Australians in the coming days," said Will Easton, managing director of Facebook Australia.

The social media firm sparked global outrage last week by blacking out news for its Australian users and inadvertently blocking a series of non-news Facebook pages linked to everything from cancer charities to emergency response services.

The compromise means that Facebook and Google - the main targets of the law - are unlikely to be penalised so long as they reach some deals with local media firms to pay for news.

The two companies had objected to legislation that made negotiations with media companies mandatory and gave an independent Australian arbiter the right to impose a settlement.

"We're pleased that we've been able to reach an agreement with the Australian government and appreciate the constructive discussions we've had" said Easton.

Despite earlier threats to pull its services from Australia over the legislation, Google had already softened its stance and brokered deals worth millions of dollars with a variety of media companies, including the two largest: Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. and Nine Entertainment.


Is Samsung Galaxy S21+ the perfect flagship for most Indians? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.
Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Apple Rides iPhone 12 Sales to Become Top Smartphone Vendor in Q4 2020, Samsung Ranks Second: Gartner
Google to Resume Political Advertisements in US, Easing Ban Imposed Last Month Over Capitol Violence
Share on Facebook Gadgets360 Twitter Share Tweet Snapchat Share Reddit Comment google-newsGoogle News
 
 

Advertisement

Follow Us

Advertisement

© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »